Gallup: Congress stuck at 13 percent

The public’s approval of Congress remains stuck at an all-time rock bottom level of 13 percent in November, a new Gallup poll shows.

Congressional approval was also at 13 percent – the lowest level in Gallup’s history — in October and August of this year. The disapproval rating for Congress in November was 82 percent, a 1 percent rise from October’s 81 percent.

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POLITICO 44

The historically low congressional approval rating was prevalent among individuals of varying political parties. Just 15 percent of Democrats said they approve of Congress, while only 11 percent of independents gave Congress a thumbs up. Republicans were somewhere in the middle of the 11 to 15 percent range.

According to Gallup, the average congressional approval rating so far this year is 17 percent. If this number holds, 2011 will prove to be the year with the lowest annual congressional job approval rating since Gallup started polling on the issue in 1974, faring worse than the 19 percent annual lows recorded in 2010 and 2008, as well as the 19 percent in 1979 and 18 percent in 1992, when Gallup only measured congressional approval ratings once annually.

The poll was conducted Nov. 3-6, with a random sample of 1,012 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

I know that congress is made up of both the Senate and House, but usually these congressional polls reflect more on the House, hence the Dems rating it lower that the Republicans do. I see Boehner and Cantor on television more than Reid. McConnell probably as equal time or better than Reid on the television. Reid does not make as many public statements.

Politico trots out these Congresssional poll ratings to say something like: See! People hate Congress more than Barack Hussein Obama" Problem is, most people are fine with their own Congress person. What a prissy article.

It would be great if the "pollsters and state run media actually showed the approval ratings of BOTH parts of congress ....the GOP controlled House and the DEMOCRAT controlled senate SEPARATELY . Sadly most of the dumbed down liberal Democrat educated American Sheeple don't realize that "Congress " is comprised of BOTH the House and the Senate.

I'd bet the farm that the approvals on the House would not be stellar, but the Approvals on the harry Reid Senate would be totally in the toilet. Thank God we'll be rid of dingy "the war is lost" harry Reid next year and he'l'l be assigned his new duties of parking cars and cleaning the Senate men's room toilets.... two jobs that he's actually qualified for....

I'd bet the farm that the approvals on the House would not be stellar, but the Approvals on the harry Reid Senate would be totally in the toilet.

I would take that bet but, you have to separate the senate Dems from the senate Reps because McConnell and Vitter would be a serious drag on the "R's". As far as the farm goes, if it is like many other family farms these days, it is in dire shape even though the Agri-business corporations are doing great.

Term limits! We need term limits! But, that will be the only thing that they will agree on - to preserve the status quo.

I'm against Congress, too - the GOP changing the practice in the Senate so that 60 votes are needed instead of the 51 that is a majority, and the House with Tea Party nuts that blocks anything that makes sense!

The republicans are the party of No, what do you expect? And it looks like all of the republican frontrunners are all OLD and tired. Holding office of the Presidency in America requires a younger candidate these days. Cain, Gingrich, and Romney are all too old. That is why they are forgetting everything because when old people get tired, they forget things like how Libya was handled, or what federal agencies to eliminate, and they forget their past positions on the issues. Young people should rise up everywhere and run for Congress, so these older gentlemen can retire.